Book 1 - Anarudi
by ggctuk
Summary: Simba has won the battle for Pride Rock and ascended to his rightful place as King of the Pride Lands. Nala is expecting their first child, and Tamani is causing trouble, but is darkness on the horizon?
1. Prologue

This is a complete rewrite of my Lion King Saga. At the moment, I have two 'books' planned for it, compared to the three of the original Saga. It borrows a bit from Saga but unlike Saga, which I had to go back and revise – repeatedly – because I kept changing the backstory of the characters, this story is meant to fit the backstory I have drawn up right now.

This story in particular combines elements from "The Return of Kopa" with the unpublished third entry to the Lion King Saga, "Prides Found", but unlike "The Return of Kopa", this story is told from start to finish rather than through flashbacks. Certain elements within are intentionally borrowed from the films, the Six New Adventures series and the German audiobooks to provide flow to the story.

So, without further ado, let's get the show on the road!

Disclaimer: _The Lion King_, its characters and settings are copyright Walt Disney pictures.

* * *

**THE LION KING**

**BOOK 1**

**ANARUDI**

A fire, almost unnatural, spread throughout the Pride Lands. Hyenas ran for their lives, or else stayed behind to battle the lionesses who had opposed them.

Atop Pride Rock, on its very summit, two lions were facing each other. One was a big lion, his fur golden and his mane reddish-brown. The other, cowering as if in surrender, was skinnier, his fur dark and his mane black as night. He had a scar down his left cheek, a permanent reminder of an incident long ago, a warning of things that might come to pass, and come to pass they had, for Scar had never expected Simba to have survived when he sent the hyenas after him in the gorge. They had told him that he was gone, and now Scar realised he should have done the deed himself, as he did with Mufasa.

It was too late for that now. Everybody knew about that day at the gorge. Even Simba, who approached, his head low, his fangs bared angrily.

"Murderer." Simba growled.

"Simba, Simba, please!" Scar cowered, "Please, have mercy, I beg you!"

Simba paced slowly closer to Scar, apparently still cautious.

"You don't deserve to live." Simba replied. Scar realised he had to come up with an excuse, and quick, if he was to find a way out of this mess.

"But… I… am… uh… _family!_" Scar giggled nervously, before taking on a more sombre and yet conniving tone, "It's the hyenas who are the _real_ enemies! It was their fault, it was their idea!"

Simba was practically bearing down on Scar now, his face showing that Scar's lie did not convince him at all.

"Why should I believe you?" Simba demanded, "Everything you ever told me was a lie."

Scar gasped in panic.

"What are you going to do?" Scar cowered, but the thought suddenly entered his head. He gave voice to it: "You wouldn't kill your own uncle." Scar meant it as a statement but it almost emerged as a question, as though Scar himself were unsure of the answer.

"No, Scar." Simba breathed deeply, "I'm not like you."

Scar sighed in relief. He may live to see the end, after all.

"Oh, thank you, Simba, you are truly noble. I'll make it up to you, I promise." Scar said, "And how can I prove myself to you? Tell me, I mean, anything."

Simba's scowl deepened.

"Run." Simba growled. A look of horror appeared on Scar's face as Simba said words that echoed those he had said long ago to Simba. The irony was not lost.

"Run away, Scar. And never return."

Scar was thunderstruck. He didn't move for a second, and then he suddenly slunk low, beneath Simba.

"Yes…" Scar said, "Of course…" he slunk a little further, towards a pile of ash he had spotted, "As you wish…" he stopped, looking down at the ground, "_Your majesty!_" he said with a snarl as he threw ash into Simba's face. Simba screamed as he was momentarily blinded, and Scar struck, launching himself at Simba, bowling the younger lion over. He then bit into Simba's neck, trying to break it, but Simba rolled over, dislodging Scar. Scar pushed Simba back over and aimed for his throat, but Simba knocked him away and launched himself. The two collided in midair. Scar was pushed back and Simba swiped at Scar's eyes, hoping to blind him, but Scar backed off a little. Scar reared up and struck Simba on the face. Simba retaliated by swiping Scar with enough force to bowl him over, but as he went down, Scar's paw hit Simba in the face and he fell towards the edge of the summit. Scar then leaped at Simba, aiming to throw him off the ledge, but when he landed on Simba, Simba pushed his back legs up and threw Scar off the summit. He got up and watched Scar fall to the ledge below. It was a long fall, and Simba wondered if the fall would finish Scar.

There was no such luck, however. Scar slowly got to his feet. Simba's eyes widened as he saw the hyenas gathering around him. His first thought was that they were about to rally themselves to attack Simba and the lionesses again.

"Ah, my friends…" Simba heard Scar say.

Shenzi, leading the hyenas, simply chuckled darkly.

"Friends?" Shenzi said, "I thought he said we were the _enemy_."

"Yeah, that's what I heard." Banzai replied.

Simba was shocked and terrified. The hyenas had obviously come to aid Scar in his battle with Simba and had heard his remark about the entire catastrophe being their fault. It seemed that even if Simba had shown mercy, the hyenas would not.

"Ed?" Banzai and Shenzi turned to their companion, who simply snickered and licked his lips. The hyenas started moving in. Simba noticed the fires were also creeping closer.

"No… no, let me explain… no, you don't understand… no, I didn't mean… no! NO!" Scar screamed as the hyenas leaped at him, and then fire covered them all. Simba looked away in horror. He did not want to watch this.

And as soon as it had started, it stopped. A drop of rain struck Simba's head, and another, and another. Soon, the heavens opened up and quelled the fire below. Simba could not bear to look at the bottom, to see what had become of Scar and the hyenas. So instead, he made his way down from the summit, back to the bottom of Pride Rock.

* * *

Agony. True, unchecked, full-blown agony. That was what he felt as fire seared over him, burning into his skin.

Thought had fled him as he limped away from Pride Rock. The hyenas had mostly fled when the fire started to consume them. Had they stayed, the rains might have proven to be his downfall, because he was still alive, despite the grievous injuries he had sustained.

The pain was unbearable. He just wanted to be taken by the black stillness of death. And yet, somehow, by some miracle, or some curse, he was not.

The pain was so intense, his injuries so bad, that when he wandered, he didn't know nor care where he was. He didn't know or care what had happened. And eventually, he succumbed, but he would not die.

Instead, the agony took his memory, and very nearly took his sanity with it. He forgot everything: his name, where he was from, what he had done with his life.

All he could remember was the pain, the fire, those creatures tearing at him.

A voice called to him. He couldn't make it out, but it called a name that he had forgotten, a name that he had forsaken. Maybe the pain had finally driven him mad.

But one day, the agony subsided a little, enough for him to come back to himself, even though what was lost was not likely to return.

And for the first time, he heard that name clearly.

_Taka…_

The voice was familiar, and yet, he had no memory of that voice, or that name. But he had to take that name, because without it, he didn't remember having one.

And so, from that day, the heavily-scarred dark lion called himself Taka, and he disappeared into the savannah.

* * *

A mere two months later, the Pride Lands were returning to their previous state. The damage done to them during Scar's reign was healing quite fast now the rains had come, and it pleased Simba to see the herds returning once again to the Pride Lands.

Nothing had pleased Simba more, though, than the news that Nala was expecting their first child, although the news came as a shock to him at first, not least because he figured out that they must have conceived the cub on that night Nala had found him in the jungle. He had fretted over whether he could be as good a father to the cub as Mufasa was to him. Nala assured him that he should not worry about such things, because Mufasa raised him well. On some nights, Simba stared at the stars, hoping for guidance, or perhaps hoping Mufasa would appear once again as a ghostly apparition like he had that fateful night he had decided to return to Pride Rock.

His mother, Sarabi, had begun reminiscing about when Simba was a little cub himself.

There was one who was not sharing in the joviality.

Simba's cousin, Tamani, had become more of a recluse ever since his return. She was his Aunt Dwala's daughter, and she was older than him by a good few months. He was aware that she was expecting a cub of her own. She had one son, Nuka, who she treated with a small amount of contempt, as though he wasn't worthy enough to be her son. Simba had heard stories about Tamani's loyalty to Scar during his illegitimate reign. The thought had crossed his mind once or twice that both Nuka and the unborn cub might be Scar's, but everybody who had heard him say this had insisted this was not the case. They never elaborated, just insisted that there was no way Scar was father to Nuka or the unborn cub.

All of Simba's attempts to extend an olive branch to Tamani had been in vain. She refused to acknowledge him as her ruler, insisting that the Pride Lands still belonged to Scar. She didn't care for the technicality of Scar's death, and she outright refused to believe Scar had been responsible for Mufasa's death.

Tamani wasn't Simba's concern right now. She had disappeared a few days ago. Zazu had spotted her heading for the Outlands, with Nuka in tow. Simba had tried to get her to stay, not least for Nuka's sake and the sake of her unborn cub, but she had snubbed him, insisting that she did not want Simba anywhere near her cub. And with that, she had disappeared into the Outlands, that dry, inhospitable dustbowl, a place where the sun seared just as much as it did in the desert to the west of the Pride Lands.

* * *

Weeks passed, and soon news spread that the Queen was about to give birth. Animals of various kinds gathered below Pride Rock at the beginning of dawn, awaiting the arrival of the new Royal Son.

Simba was nervous as anything. His insecurities rose to the surface again, as did his pride at the moment of becoming a father.

"Calm yourself, Simba." Rafiki advised. Simba had sent Zazu to fetch him from his tree to preside over the ceremony, but Rafiki had arrived before Nala had actually given birth, so Rafiki acted as midwife. He had ushered Simba, Timon and Pumbaa away from the Royal Den while he worked.

It seemed like an eternity had passed when Nala emerged from the den, clearly shattered but also contended.

"Well?" Simba met her. She looked into his eyes, those cool slate eyes meeting Simba's ruby red eyes.

"It's a boy." She breathed. Simba half chuckled.

"Congrats, kid!" Timon leaped up and gave Simba a noogie. Simba shook the excited meerkat off.

The four of them ascended to the peak of the kopje overlooking the Pride Lands. Not that long ago, the lands were burnt and blackened after the fire that had ravaged them at the end of Scar's reign. Now, the Pride Lands were once again lush, the herd animals had all returned.

Nala nuzzled Simba affectionately. The pair parted briefly to allow Rafiki through. He held their newborn son in his arms, and with a brief glance at both Simba and Nala, he stopped at the peak of the kopje and raised the cub up for all the animals below to see.

* * *

Kopa. That was the name Simba and Nala had given to their newborn son.

The ceremony was over. Rafiki had returned to his tree to add the newest addition of the royal family to his inscriptions. Kopa's image sat below that of Simba, whose image not that long ago had been wiped away by Rafiki when he believed Simba was dead, and Nala, who Rafiki had noticed had become a graceful queen on a par with her predecessors Sarabi and Uru. If only Mufasa were here to see his son now!

A soft wind blew through the tree, ruffling Rafiki's mane. It carried a familiar presence.

"Mufasa?" Rafiki looked up at the sky. The wind blew in apparent affirmation.

"And why didn't you show yourself a little sooner?" Rafiki asked, half in jest, "I am sure Simba would have appreciated knowing you were watching."

The wind blew again, a little harder this time, as if it were Mufasa saying: _I was watching._

"Well…" Rafiki stalled, "If you were watching, you must know that Simba and Nala have a healthy boy. Simba looked so proud! But he's full of doubt… much like you were when you first heard news that you were going to have a cub of your own, I shouldn't wonder! I wonder what the future shall hold in store for little Kopa, and for Simba and Nala."

Rafiki started mixing herbs together with water inside a shell. These herbs altered one's perception dependant on how they were mixed. Sometimes, crazy, impossible imagery was presented, sometimes the future could be glimpsed, and sometimes, it allowed one to look back at the past. It was not something Rafiki did often, not least because predictions didn't always turn out to be true, or at least, you had to take a closer look at things to be able to glean the meaning of what had been shown.

Rafiki stared into the mixture. His eyes widened as images assailed him, although they didn't make sense at first. He saw dark things: a figure falling into shadow. Somebody who might be Tamani exiled. A young cub, corrupted into doing hateful deeds… and yet, there was also a light…

Rafiki looked at the sky.

"What have I seen?" Rafiki wondered, "Is this a glimpse of events to come? What does this mean? Oh, Mufasa…" Rafiki got up, and he grasped hold of his walking stick. He stood at the edge of the tree and looked towards Pride Rock, some way in the distance.

"Is there darkness to come in our future?" Rafiki wondered.

* * *

Before you say anything, yes, this story will, and will have to, adapt certain scenes from the films. I don't think I could get things to match up properly otherwise, and it'll be interesting to see certain scenes from another character's point of view. At the very least, it's not as jumbled-up as The Return of Kopa was.

If it's not already clear, I gave Zira a 'birth' name, like Scar has.

The title of the story, "Anarudi", is Swahili for "He Returns".

Name meanings:

_Tamani_ – desire (Swahili)

_Nuka_ – Stink (Swahili)


	2. The Brewing Storm

The sun rose as Tamani made her way back to the Pride Lands. She had been gone for a good three months, long enough to have time to think about things, and long enough to give birth. She hadn't stayed in the Outlands – that hot, dry hell was in no way suitable for birthing a cub. She had instead taken a shortcut through the Outlands and straight into the savannah beyond the Pride Lands, well away from Simba.

Nuka trailed behind her, and between Nuka and herself, there were two cubs. One was a dark-furred boy, the other a light-furred girl. Tamani had only given birth to one of them. The other she had stolen from a lioness who had been wandering the savannah. The boy she had called Kovu, in honour of Scar. The girl she had called Vitani.

A small part of Tamani did not want to return to the Pride Lands. But she owed it to Scar. After all, she had been his most loyal follower in life. She had failed to provide him with a worthwhile heir when she gave birth to Nuka, but things were different now. The two cubs would provide the future, the culmination of Scar's legacy. Scar's final orders to her had been very clear.

'_If you bear a boy, then he shall be my heir._'

Tamani had not been present at the Battle for Pride Rock. Scar had sent her away to find a water source. The Zuberi had run dry for months, so there was little water to spare. The herds moved on, and begrudgingly, Scar had accepted something had to be done, although he would never have admitted that to Sarabi. When Tamani returned to Pride Rock, it was to find the place on fire and the hyenas fleeing, some babbling about _him_ being back from the dead. Tamani went to investigate, but by the time she had gotten to Pride Rock, it was over. The rains fell and washed away Scar's reign. She never found Scar's body, so she assumed that the hyenas must have made off with it, but she blamed Simba as much as them: had he not returned, Scar would not be dead. And now Tamani plotted, plotted to return the throne to its _rightful_ owners, those who Scar had chosen to continue on his legacy.

"Mother, I'm tired." Nuka moaned, "Can we stop?"

"Quiet." Tamani barked. She did not have the patience for Nuka right now. Her first-born was a frail cub, but that was all down to bad breeding. Tamani repressed a stab of anger at Nuka's dead father, Kosa, who had ruled the prairie north of the Pride Lands. Scar had fielded the idea that both their lines would be secure if Kosa mated with Tamani and produced an heir. Kosa had agreed to it, but when Nuka was born, and he saw how frail Nuka was, Scar became convinced Kosa sought to sully his line. In rage, Scar had ordered the hyenas into the north prairie and he personally dealt with Kosa, taking his land and extending his rule. The prairie was no longer a part of the Pride Lands, though, because Simba had declared it as neutral territory, ready for any lion to grab. She did not want to take that territory – the Pride Lands were her home, a home that they were close to now. They looked greener than she had seen them in a long time. Tamani wondered if Scar would get the blame for the terrible drought too. The stupid herd animals forgot that droughts had struck during the reigns of the previous Kings. Indeed, one such severe drought had struck during the reign of Ahadi himself. No King had control over the rains, else there would never have been a drought. Tamani had to give some recognition to the fact that letting the hyenas into the Pride Lands had been a mistake, something she herself would not repeat. Those mangy, flea-bitten fur-bags had proven they could not be trusted.

Simba had started his reign as a wishy-washy sort. His ascension had started to bring the herd animals, but for the first two months, there were whispers that Simba would not be able to fill the paw prints of his father. Tamani saw it differently: Simba would be unable to do what was necessary for the good of the pride itself. And the Pride Lands did not need a ruler like that. If she could have done, she would have challenged Simba herself, because there was no male in her travels abroad that she trusted enough to take the throne from Simba. There had been a few rogues who wanted to mark their own place on the world but they steered clear of the Pride Lands.

All her hopes rested on Kovu, then. Kovu was a cub now, but she intended to raise Kovu to be strong enough to challenge Simba.

Her plots fresh in her mind, she started forwards toward the Pride Lands, Nuka, Kovu and Vitani in tow.

* * *

"What did you just tell me?" Tamani said in alarm and anger.

She had just gotten back to Pride Rock. Sarabi had taken the cubs from Tamani to settle them in to their new home, in the same cave Scar himself had once inhabited when Mufasa was still alive, and had delivered the news that Nala had given birth to a baby boy. It was the worst possible news that Tamani could possibly have been given. Simba's line was secure now.

Or was it? News had reached her of a hyena insurrection not long ago. The hyenas had ousted Simba and taken control of the Pride Lands. While she was glad that the hyenas had gone, had been chased even from the elephant graveyard, it put the idea in her head that Simba was not invulnerable. Thoughts started racing through Tamani's mind. Perhaps there _was_ a chance, after all, for Kovu to ascend to the position he was destined for. But that train of thought needed further exploring, and so Tamani joined her cubs inside the cave, content to be alone with her thoughts.

* * *

Another two months passed by, and soon Kopa was a healthy young cub. He appeared a little unusual for a lion cub, for he had a small tuft of dark fur atop his head. The last time Simba had seen a cub with a tuft of fur on his head before his mane started growing in, it had been Malka, who, when Simba last saw him, had a small tuft of black fur on his head. Kopa's was a lighter golden colour, so it was less noticeable, but it became obvious when he was near any of the other cubs, especially young Kovu, Tamani's son, who was older than Kopa, and yet he only had fuzz on the top of his head.

Simba had done everything he could think of to try to get Tamani to integrate, but she instead spent hours upon hours in Scar's old den. He had offered to find her a better place to stay, for she had refused to sleep in the Royal Den with the other lionesses, but Tamani had rebuffed him repeatedly. She refused to go out with the hunting party. Simba saw her becoming as reclusive as Scar was before he took the throne. He made sure that she wasn't in cahoots with the hyenas, unlikely though that was because they would never allow themselves to rally under a lion again. Not that an alliance with hyenas was possible: ever since Fisi's attempt to take over the Pride Lands had failed, the hyenas had scattered.

"She was quite close to Scar." Nala told Simba one day, after Tamani stalked off when Simba had tried to talk to her again.

"What was she to Scar?" Simba asked, "Are those cubs his?"

"No." Nala replied, "Scar rejected Nuka as an heir. Tamani was a devoted follower, but we never knew why. I doubt even Sarabi knows the truth, and she kept a close eye on Tamani when she started showing interest in Scar, as did Diku. If Diku knew anything, she took it with her on the night Dwala died."

Simba looked at the sky, but then he turned to Nala.

"Perhaps she was too ashamed of failing on her promise to look after Tamani." Nala wondered, "Surely, news of Scar's demise would have reached far and wide by now. But she wouldn't be the only one who has failed to return if she's heard it. Chumvi, Tojo and Tama are all absent too."

Simba looked back out at the Pride Lands.

"Sometimes I worry about them." Simba admitted, "But I choose to believe they're alive, and if they're out there, they have their own lives to lead. As we have ours."

* * *

Not far from Pride Rock, near the water hole, Kopa was playing with his friend, Afua. Not too long ago, the pair had a disagreement over Beba, a cheetah cub. Afua had remarked that Beba is the fastest runner, best climber and highest jumper around, completely oblivious that those remarks had hurt Kopa's feelings. Kopa had refused to speak to him or go near him for five days straight, so Afua had approached Timon and Pumbaa, who knew Kopa well enough to offer advice on what to do. The pair were rummaging around for a decent spot to find bugs.

"Well, it so happens that Kopa's already been to see us." Timon had remarked.

"He did?" Pumbaa blinked, "I thought he was running away from Nala because he didn't want to talk…"

"Pumbaa! Yeesh!" Timon said, cutting across Pumbaa's sentence, "Afua doesn't need to know he's been avoiding the subject for days, now."

Pumbaa blinked, aware that Timon had just said as much himself.

"Kopa talked to us, either way." Timon added, turning back to Afua.

"Yeah, what you said to him about Beba really hurt his feelings." Pumbaa added.

"Gee, I didn't mean anything by it." Afua had said, caught a little off-guard.

"Best thing to do is go and say sorry." Timon advised, "Kopa's already gone to look for you."

When the two met up, Afua had apologised for hurting Kopa's feelings. The two were once again best friends.

The two were playing tag by the water hole. Afua was hidden behind a rock. He could clearly see Kopa, although Kopa couldn't see him, and he was searching behind trees and small rocks a short distance away. A thought crept into Afua's head. He lowered himself, ready and waiting for Kopa to pass by. The game had just turned from tag into 'Pin', a game that Afua was very good at.

Kopa drew near, peering between the rocks, and that was when Afua struck. He leaped from behind the rock and collided into Kopa, bowling him over.

"Ha! Pinned ya!" Afua said triumphantly, getting off Kopa.

"Oh, yeah?" Kopa said, and he jumped at Afua, pushing him over, "Now who's pinned who?" Kopa grinned.

"Okay, you win." Afua laughed. Kopa let his friend up. Something drew Afua's attention.

"Hey, who's that?" Afua said, pointing across the water hole. Kopa turned around to see what Afua was pointing at, and he saw a young cub across the water hole. The cub was dark-furred, and he looked to be the same age as Kopa.

"He looks lonely." Kopa remarked, "Maybe we should invite him to play."

Afua thought on it for a moment. He had heard about the cubs belonging to Tamani, although she had made sure nobody ever saw them. Now it seemed one of them had escaped.

"I'm not sure." Afua said, "He looks like he might be one of Tamani's cubs. She's trouble, from what my mom told me."

"Aw, _they_ can't be that bad!" Kopa remarked, walking past Afua, "I'm going to ask."

As Kopa approached the cub, however, he looked up and realised he had been spotted. He tried to get away from Kopa by running around the water hole, but as he was looking behind himself, straight at Kopa, he did not see the slippery rocks on his side of the bank. He slipped and fell in the water hole.

Kopa gasped in shock at the sight, before wading his way into the water.

"Hey!" Afua yelled, "The water hole's not that deep! Maybe he'll come back up!"

"I'm not leaving him in there!" Kopa replied, before he dived under the water. He couldn't swim himself, but he as Afua said, the water hole was fairly shallow. But the other cub hadn't come up. So Kopa ducked his head underneath the water. He searched for a sign of the cub, secretly fearful of what would happen if the cub drowned. Kopa had been told by Simba to stay away from Tamani, and with good reason, as her behaviour was becoming more and more antagonistic. He imagined the rage that Tamani would display if her cub died.

Kopa spotted the young cub and paddled his way towards him. The cub was out cold. Kopa grabbed the cub around the neck and pulled hard. The cub was quite heavy for Kopa but the water seemed to make it a little easier to drag the weight. Soon enough, Kopa emerged from the water, dragging the cub back to the bank, where he dropped the cub. Afua was there, an anxious look on his face as he looked around for any sign of help, or Tamani.

The cub spluttered and coughed. Panting heavily, he tried to get up.

"Easy there." Afua said.

"Hey!" another voice interrupted. Kopa and Afua looked around to see another cub running towards them. The cub's face bore a snarl. It skidded to a halt in front of Afua, Kopa and the dark cub. The cub had striking blue eyes and a tuft of scruffy hair on its head.

"What do you think you're doing to my brother? Who do you think you are?" the cub demanded. Kopa and Afua blinked at each other – the cub spoke with the voice of a girl, but if the cub was a girl, then she was unfortunate to look like a boy.

Afua's mouth hung open. Kopa glanced at Afua and then back at the cub.

"I think I'm the one who just saved his life." Kopa said incredulously, unable to believe the attitude that the cub was taking.

"Yeah, right." The cub replied, barging Kopa out of the way to get to the darker cub, "Get up, Kovu." She said to the dark cub. The cub got up and shook himself off.

"He's right, Vitani." Kovu said, "I fell in, and he rescued me."

Vitani looked between Kopa, Kovu and Afua. She scoffed.

"Tch. Mother says these Pridelanders are trouble." Vitani remarked, casting sideways glances at Kopa and Afua.

"Hey, now, that wasn't very nice!" Afua said, taking a slightly more defensive stance. Vitani glared at him before returning her attention to Kovu.

"You shouldn't have run off when Nuka's back was turned." Vitani said, "If Mother finds out…"

Kovu looked at the ground, unable to say anything.

"Let's go home." Vitani said. She turned to go. Kovu followed her. Figuring what was done was done, Kopa and Afua also turned to leave. But then Vitani stopped and turned back to face Kopa.

"Hey." She said. Kopa stopped and turned around to face Vitani.

"Thanks for saving my brother." Vitani said to Kopa.

* * *

The day had drawn to a close. The sun was setting. Simba sat waiting for Kopa to return, and while waiting, he recalled his own adventures in the past. Sometimes he wouldn't return from playing with Nala, or exploring the Pride Lands, until the sun had set. The threat of the hyenas had disappeared, so Kopa was safer now than Simba had been in his own youth.

"Dad!" a voice called out, snapping Simba from his thoughts. Simba looked down Pride Rock's kopje. Kopa was running up the path alone.

"Like father, like son." Zazu muttered, before flying off. Simba rolled his eyes.

"It's getting late." Simba said, "Where have you been?"

"Oh, I made a new friend." Kopa said. Simba raised his eyebrows at the cub.

"And who is this new friend?" Simba asked.

"Her name's Vitani." Kopa said. Simba frowned.

"Vitani is Tamani's daughter." Simba said.

"She doesn't seem that bad." Kopa replied.

"Kopa, I'd keep away from Tamani's cubs." Simba said, "How did you even meet her?"

"She came along after I pulled her brother from the water." Kopa explained.

Simba blinked, clearly bemused at the tale Kopa was telling.

"You did what?" Simba asked, hiding the chuckle in his voice.

Kopa repeated the story, telling Simba how he and Afua had started by playing hide and seek by the water hole, and then how Afua turned it into a game of pin, how Afua spotted a cub on the other side of the water hole, and how that cub suddenly slipped in. Kopa recounted how he dove in and pulled Kovu out.

"Well, Kovu should think himself lucky." Simba said, smiling, "If I'm not mistaken, according to my Father's law, Kovu owes you a life-debt."

"What's a life-debt?" Kopa blinked.

"It's where you save somebody's life, and they owe you a return favour." Simba said, "Now, come on. It's getting late, and you'd better get some sleep. I'm taking you out tomorrow to tour the Pride Lands and some of our neighbouring friends."

"But I'm not tired." Kopa said, stifling a yawn.

"You're not fooling anybody." Simba said, smiling, "Now go on in. I'll be in shortly to say goodnight."

Kopa padded into the den as Simba stood atop the kopje, gazing out over the Pride Lands. The news that Kovu, Tamani's young son, owed a life-debt to Kopa worried Simba more than it pleased him. He knew that Tamani would take it badly, for she would also know that it was Mufasa's Law that Kovu owed a life debt.

* * *

Little did Simba know how right he was. That evening, Vitani had imparted the tale to Tamani, with some omissions.

Tamani's roar echoed throughout the dingy cave.

"You _what_?" Tamani snarled. She glared down at Vitani, who didn't seem fazed by her mother's angry outburst at all.

"And _what_ were you two doing near the water hole?" Tamani growled, turning to Kovu, "What have I told you about staying inside the cave?"

Kovu shrank away from Tamani. Vitani stepped in.

"I went after Kovu." Vitani said, "Because Nuka here…" Vitani jabbed a paw accusingly at her older brother, who chuckled nervously, "didn't keep an eye on him."

Tamani rounded on Nuka.

"You were supposed to be watching him!" Tamani advanced on Nuka, who shrank further back against the wall.

"I… uh… that is…" Nuka stuttered.

"And you let him out of your sight to wander around unsupervised!" Tamani's rage was building, "And now… by Mufasa's Law, Kovu owes a life-debt to _his_ spawn! No…" Tamani stopped advancing on Nuka, who breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Come on, Kovu." Vitani said, "Let's go to bed and leave Mother alone."

Kovu paced behind Vitani. Nuka remained still, not sure of whether to go or not.

"Nuka! Vitani barked, startling him. He rushed from the cave.

Now she was alone, Tamani paced backwards and forwards, her head hung low, her face angry.

"No, I will not have it." Tamani snarled, "I will not allow one of my children to owe a life-debt to one of _his_… What to do… what to do…" Tamani stopped. Her eyes widened as she came up with an idea.

"Oh, yes…" Tamani whispered to herself, "_Yes…_ if I… it'll null and void the life-debt… then that is what I shall do. By Scar's honour, that is what I shall do!"

* * *

Now Tamani's plotting has begun! What does this mean for Simba, Nala and Kopa? Can any more surprises be sent their way?

As explained here, I've put the German Audio dramas first because they specifically mention Kopa being the only cub in the pride, which is not true in Six New Adventures. The second half of the chapter evidently takes place after A Snake In The Grass.

Name meanings:

Afua: To Save, Pardon, Cure (Swahili)

Kosa: Sin (Swahili)


End file.
